Greenbridge Developments: Bringing LEED Gold to North Carolina

There surely can’t be a Treehugger out there who has not heard of William McDonough, eco-architect and co-author of Cradle to Cradle. Now his architecture firm, William McDonough and Partners, has designed a ground-breaking new development in downtown Carrboro, North Carolina. Greenbridge, as the project is called, will be a mixed-use development incorporating solar energy, rain water harvesting, living roofs and many other treehugger-friendly features. The developers claim it will be the first LEED Gold certified mixed-use development in North Carolina.

While it is not due to be complete until 2009, the project is already attracting a great deal of attention. Not everyone is happy though. Carrboro and Chapel Hill have traditionally had very strict rules about high-rise buildings, and some residents have expressed concerns that Greenbridge, a nine-story development, will alter the feel of the town. However, with 50% sold already, it seems many locals are only too happy to see options for modern green living in their town, however tall they may be.